Fintech Nigeria Marks First Anniversary, to Step up Advocacy for Enabling Regulatory Environment

The Fintech Association of Nigeria on Thursday, July 12, 2018, marked its first year anniversary since inception, with its second social meet that brought together members and key stakeholders in the Fintech industry.

Hosted by Access Bank Nigeria Plc a member of the association, the forum was another opportunity for exchange of ideas that will constitute the framework for shaping the policy direction for fintech in the country.

In his opening remarks the President of the Council of FintechNGR, Dr. Segun Aina informed stakeholders that in the past one year, the association has engaged key regulators in the financial market, economic and policy space namely; Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Insurance Commission, Ministry of Finance, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Nigeria Stock Exchange amongst others.

He said the body with 52 members has gained wider acceptance in the international community, with the membership of the Global Fintech Hub, Africa Fintech Council and partnerships with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Department for International Development (DFID).

According to him “ Fintech Nigeria is an all-embracing association that accommodates all the players in the industry and ecosystem”.

Dr Aina shared that with a membership that cuts across financial service providers, banks, ICT firms, law firms, consulting firms, the media, start ups, venture capital firms and educational institutions, the association is focused on driving its key pillars to connect, advocate and accelerate.

Giving the goodwill message the President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN), Dr Uche Olowu said the institute believes in the fintech industry and the value it brings to the financial services sector. He announced that the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN) will host members of the Association, players in the fintech and financial sector at the FintechNGR Social Meet (3) on November 1st 2018.

Delivering the lecture on the “Future of Fintech in Nigeria”, the Executive Director, Access Bank Mr Ade Bajomo asserted that Nigeria’s cash-driven economic status provided an opportunity for the fintech industry, to innovate and address.

Mr Bajomo also noted that the payment systems have also served as drivers to the fintech space while listing the challenges of the sector in the country to include; access to data, lack of clarity in regulations and the transition from fintech level to the top-tech level.

Giving an outlook for the industry in Nigeria, Bajomo identified the following developments that will dictate the pace of fintech which are; blockchain will shake things, digital will become mainstream, advances in robotics and artificial intelligence, security will be huge and customer intelligence will be vital.

Bajomo was of the view that there will be collaborations between Fintech companies and major financial institutions to deepen financial inclusion in the nation.

Council member Dr Olayinka David-West of the Lagos Business school led an interactive session on the Fintech regulatory bill, where stakeholders agreed that there was the need for a single institutional regulatory framework that will create an enabling environment for the industry.